Scotland

Glasgow bin workers in wildcat strike

170 bin workers in Glasgow took part in wildcat strike action last Friday 23rd May.

The action disrupted both refuse and recycling collections throughout the city affecting 15,000 households. Workers at the Queenslie and Eastern depots took the un-official action, claiming the council had failed to meet overtime payments of up to £4000.

Council workers to vote on action

UNISON members in local government in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will vote on strike action to begin in July, while teachers discuss co-ordinated action.

UNISON members were given the green light for a ballot on industrial action after rejecting the pay offer from employers.

The offer is below the current inflation rate of 4.2% and less that the increase in average earnings across the economy.

Council workers to ballot for strike action

UNISON members working in local government in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been given the green light for a ballot on industrial action after rejecting the pay offer from employers.

The offer is for a 2.45% increase, with an additional £100 flat rate increase on the very lowest three scale points.

Panic at oil pensions strike

Grangemouth plant

Workers at the Grangemouth Ineos plant will strike for two days from Sunday and will shut down the Forties pipeline, which provides a third of the UK's daily oil output.

The government is warning consumers not to panic, as panic-buying of petrol has begun.

The strike of Unite members is against attacks on pensions, including closing the scheme to new entrants.

More information from Unite here.

Anarchism in 1940s Glasgow

Two interviews with veterans of the anarchist scene in 1940s Glasgow.

Edinburgh rail workers in wildcat strike

Rail signallers in Edinburgh went on wildcat strike, bringing the station to a standstill for an hour on Monday.

The action at Edinburgh's Waverly station was taken in a dispute over the provision of cover for breaks. David Simpson, of Network Rail in Scotland, said the "deliberately disruptive, unprovoked action" was "completely unacceptable".

Ian MacIntyre, the RMT's regional organiser for Scotland, was reported as saying: "Our members took the action in the interests of safety.

Cuts resurrected for Edinburgh schools

The latest drive to improve education by New Labour got off to a bad start after Edinburgh city council set up a cross-party group to decide which schools get closed in 2008.

The renewed threat of closures resurrects a plan which local people had believed to be over when a community campaign overturned the proposed closure of 22 schools and four community centres in the city last year.

Glasgow mechanics strike solidarity

On Tuesday, nine mechanics walked out on official strike after failing to agree to a pre-Christmas pay deal, over 50 other workers refused to cross picket lines.

The BBC reported that sixteen mechanics and 40 cleansing drivers also came out in 'wildcat' support, disrupting refuse collections.

Glasgow City Council attempted to brand the strike "unofficial and illegal."

Washing Machine Misery

Cedar Flats, Glasgow

GLASGOW: Tenants in high flats across Glasgow have been left without working washing machines.
To do a wash, their machines have to be filled by hand with water. Glasgow Housing Association know about the problem, and know how to fix it. But shockingly, GHA are stalling with the fixes.

Student nurse Alice is a tenant in the Cedar Court high flats. She was left for more than a year without a working washing machine.
“I am required to have a cleanly washed uniform for every shift for infection control.”
“That means I’m constantly running a washing load”

Glasgow Day Care workers' Strike enters 8th week

A strike by around 270 Day Care Workers in Glasgow is entering its 8th week. It is based around issues of pay and grading.

The day care workers are employed in ten centres across Glasgow offering support and care to people with a physical and learning disability. Their day to day work involves supporting a wide range of people, from those with a mild learning disability who need help accessing community resources and employment, to those with complex needs who require a high level of care.

Independent report into ICL plastics disaster finds health and safety regime 'dangerously dysfunctional'

A view of the remains of the four-storey factory the day after the explosion

On 11 May 2004, nine workers were killed and more than thirty-three injured in an explosion at the ICL Plastics plant of Grovepark Mills in Maryhill, Glasgow. This was the worst health and safety incident in Scotland since 1988. An independent study into the health and safety regime at the factory before the explosion has today been released.

On sentencing ICL Plastics Ltd and ICL Tech Ltd to fines of £200,000 on 28th August 2007, Lord Brodie stated the following in relation to mitigating factors:

"This is not a case of failure to heed warnings or where a decision was taken to run a risk in order to save money. The companies apparently have a good safety record prior to May 2004, going back to the 1960’s."

Edinburgh council workers to strike

Local government workers on the march in Nottingham

Council services across Edinburgh are set to grind to a halt after workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of a one-day strike.

The industrial action is set to take place next Thursday, and union leaders said today it will affect services "right across the board". About 8000 Unison members have voted by more than two-to-one in favour of the walk-out in protest at cuts and possible redundancies.

Royal Mail: Wildcat strikes spread as post piles up

Mail begins to pile up

Wildcat stoppages at Royal Mail offices in Scotland have now spread to thirteen offices. Meanwhile 200 million items of post are now undelivered, and official strikes and further ballots continue.

Thousands of workers at Glasgow mail centre were on an unofficial strike when thirteen drivers who refused to cross the picket line of the official strike at Edinburgh airport were suspended.

Glasgow: 5,000 postal workers in unofficial action

Postal workers on national strike over pay last week

During the ongoing rolling strikes over pay and conditions, thousands of postal workers launched a wildcat strike in support of colleagues who were suspended.

Thirteen workers who had refused to cross a picket line at Edinburgh airport were sent home, and up to 5,000 colleagues walked out in support. The CWU said a deal was offered to bosses which would have averted the unofficial action but it was rejected. The strike began at Glasgow Mail Centre at midnight last night, followed by delivery offices shortly afterwards.

Scotland: Airport workers to strike over 2% pay offer

After a 2% pay offer - 2.5% pay cut against inflation - fire-fighters and engineering staff in Highland airports in the T&G (Unite) union have decided to strike from July 30.

Starting July 30 a succession of 24hr strikes every week will affect airports across the Highlands and Islands from the largest in Inverness, which is expected to deal with several thousand holiday-makers and travellers at its most busiest time, to smaller airports in "Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree and Wick".

Scottish dock workers ballot for strike action

Rosyth dockyard

After a wildcat strike last month, 1200 workers at Rosyth Royal Dockyard have announced they are to ballot on industrial action in their dispute over pensions.

Shop stewards for the four main unions at the yard decided to request the ballot on Wednesday 11 July. The result will be declared on 25 July.

Workers will be asked to vote on whether to back strike action and action short of a strike, with a strong recommendation from shop stewards to vote yes on both counts.

Scotland: Dockers strike over pensions

Rosyth dockyard

Hundreds of workers at Rosyth naval dockyard in Fife yesterday ignored the pleas of union officials and walked out in a row over pension cuts

The Daily Record reported that more than 600 workers - almost all those in the yard at the time-took part in the wildcat strike.

They are furious at changes to their pension scheme.

Babcock International, who run the yard, have told workers they will have to pay more into the scheme but will receive smaller pensions when they retire.

Scotland Tesco drivers suspend strike after talks

The second strike of Tesco truck drivers has been suspended pending negotiations.

A second strike in the dispute at the Tesco distribution depot at Livingston near Edinburgh over changes to job contracts and union representation has been suspended after management offered to open talks with the T&G section of Unite - the union.

Second strike called in Tesco truckers' dispute

A second strike has been called in the row over changes to working conditions for drivers based at Tesco's Livingston distribution depot.

The Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) say 150 drivers are to join the 24-hour strike next Tuesday. Tesco have strongly denied claims that drivers based in Livingston had been threatened with job losses if they did not sign a new contract. A Tesco spokesman has accused the union of "following their own agenda".

Scotland: Ten week strike to come to an end

Sunvic Controls factory

Workers at a South Lanarkshire factory are expected to return to work after spending 10 weeks on strike.

The 40 female employees at Sunvic Controls in Uddingston walked out after 14 months of talks on pay and new employment conditions collapsed. Union officials said the company wanted to implement periodic lay-offs and short-time working when demand was low. The T&G Scotland section of Unite welcomed the resolution brokered with the help of conciliation service Acas.

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